Microsoft teases Windows 7 Aero-like design for Windows 11

With the release of Windows 8 and its successor, Windows 10, Microsoft dropped support for rounded corners and Aero Glass in favor of a flatter and neutral-colored UI.

Windows 11 has added support for rounded corners, and it looks like the next major update will introduce a new design feature that will be slightly similar to the Windows 7-era Aero effect.

Transparent title bars for classic Windows applications are making a comeback, representing an aesthetic change to the Windows operating system. Microsoft is looking to update top-level windows and app popups with a new transparency effect, which could be acrylic or a new material.

Currently, the implementation of mica (a new type of transparency effect) is left to developers, so we only have mica effects in some applications, and the rest of the application windows are simply designed.

Based on the Windows Run screenshots we accidentally shared during the Windows Developer Program webcast in January, it's clear that the tech giant is returning to something that's reminiscent of Windows The style of Windows Aero used in the 7 and Windows Vista era.

For those unfamiliar, the Aero Glass theme for Windows 7 or Vista is the title bar of the application window (including the minimize, maximize and close buttons). menu) provides a soft and translucent look. The Windows Vista implementation looks great and modern, but it's more resource intensive than a simple design.

Windows 11 version 22H2, also known as Sun Valley 2, can help recreate this look of app title bars.

The tech giant may use an acrylic effect for all classic app title bars and reserve mica for Windows.

Unlike the Acrylic effect, which enables transparency/translucency, Mica is an opaque effect that works on application windows, title bars, and even backgrounds.

As you can see in the comparison above, mica is subtle and it only allows you to see through it Desktop Wallpapers.

Acrylic, on the other hand, is a fancy and resource-intensive Windows Aero-like effect that displays the desktop wallpaper and other windows behind active applications.

Additionally, we discovered a new experimental flag in the operating system that brings the Mica effect to more Windows applications.

This flag is titled "MicaBackdropInApplicationFrameHostTitlebar" and will update some existing applications, such as those using Mica's Feedback Hub. The mica effect is already present in core Windows 11 apps like Photos and Microsoft Edge, and Microsoft will be adding it to more apps in the coming weeks.

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